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Best Ice Cream Sundaes In Seattle

August 20, 2014 5:00 AM

(photo credit: Thinkstock)

Ice cream sundaes have been a favorite frozen dessert menu item since the late 1800s. While it may have started off as just ice cream with a flavored topping, whipped cream and a maraschino cherry, ice cream sundaes have evolved into works of art at several Seattle eateries. Chefs and food preparers have gone above and beyond the original sundae recipes by using various flavors of ice cream and adding fresh fruit, crumbled brownies and crushed almonds or pecans as part of the toppings. Check out these local eateries to find some of the best ice cream sundaes in all of Seattle.

Dilettante of Seattle is a mocha cafe and martini bar that also serves coupes — a French word for ice cream sundae that is generally topped with a flavored sauce and at times, fruit. Dilettante’s Signature Coupes are available with two to four scoops of your choice of ice cream, Dilettante truffle or caramel sauces and vanilla whipped cream. Brownie, toffee or lemon bar pieces can also be added to give your specialty sundae a variety of flavors. Other additional toppings include Cyprus sea salt, candied pecans or honey. Dilettante’s ice cream flavors include vanilla bean, chocolate, strawberry, mint fudge, espresso, salted caramel and sorbet.

Situated along Seattle’s waterfront, the Palisade Restaurant offers breathtaking views of Elliott Bay and its marina of the same name. Palisade is well known for its exquisite food menu which includes a variety of fresh seafood dishes. What you may not know is that the restaurant also has a truly delicious dessert menu. One of the customer favorites is the spiced banana ice cream sundae, made with salted caramel ice cream, caramelized bananas, macadamia nut granola and rich, housemade caramel sauce. This dessert is also prepared gluten-free by the resident pastry chef, Annamarie Ciotta.

In business since 1998, the Icon Grill is a full-service restaurant that has served some truly delicious menu items. During the warmer days of summer in Seattle, it is especially difficult to resist one specific item on the dessert menu — Icon’s legendary, hot fudge sundae. It is made with Olympic mountain vanilla bean ice cream, freshly-made hot fudge sauce and a variety of toppings served right at your table. This frozen treat is served in a good-sized cookie bowl and is better when shared, since it is such a large dessert portion.

Molly Moon’s serves homemade ice cream in its shop and you can tell right away that it is homemade because the ice cream is so rich and thick. A favorite menu item available at Molly Moon’s is called “Molly’s Favorite Sundae,” which is made with a scoop of melted chocolate ice cream and a scoop of salted caramel ice cream. It is then topped with freshly prepared hot fudge, whipped cream, candied hazelnuts and a Chukar cherry. The melted chocolate ice cream is very chocolaty and the salted caramel ice cream is extra salty, but when you combine the two together, it is truly a one-of-a-kind combination for your taste buds to savor.

While you might think that frozen custard is a type of pudding, it is absolutely not. In fact, the only difference between frozen custard and ice cream is that when it is prepared, you use a higher concentration of egg yolks to make it. Frozen custard can also be made with less butterfat and can be slow-churned to make it creamy, thick and, the biggest plus, it has less calories than ice cream. Another myth about frozen custard is that it only comes in two flavors – chocolate and vanilla. Old School Frozen Custard in Seattle has put that myth to bed, offering a different flavor of frozen custard every day. Old School Frozen Custard also offers delicious sundaes like The Cheerleader, The Recess and The Assembly. You have numerous topping choices to choose from and each has layers of thick, frozen custard, fruit, hot fudge, whipped cream and crushed almonds.

Sue Gabel has been writing entertainment and travel-related articles in the greater Puget Sound/Seattle area since 1999. She writes about music, the Seattle scene and more. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.